“Our wedding was about being with our absolute favorite people in a beautiful place.” The simplicity and earnestness of that single quote really sums up the loveliness that was Kate and Ryan’s Zion National Park wedding. A celebration of love with only the couple’s closest family and friends, with a simple mantra: love, fun, family and friends, and Zion. All captured flawlessly by the talented Tyler Rye Photography. Keep scrolling for all the stunning scenery, thoughtful details, and love-filled photos!

Over the past two years, we spent a lot of time visiting national parks. We knew we wanted to have our wedding outside, and a national park was an obvious choice. We chose Zion because it’s one of our favorites, with the red rocks, green sage brush, and sun.

The only thing I could imagine wearing on my wedding day was a grey dress. I could picture exactly what I wanted: a messy skirt and a simple top, all in a light grey color. It was really hard to find, and I almost gave up many times. My mom and I finally found one 4 hours from home. At the shop, we learned that the designer had discontinued the gown, but I could buy the sample. It had bling on the bodice and was about 8 sizes too large. We bought it. Five alterations later, it was perfect!

We planned our wedding weekend by thinking about ways to maximize our time with family and friends. We hired a wedding planner so we wouldn’t be busy while in Zion. We planned a big hike in the Narrows the day before, and we held a timed mile the morning of our wedding. We love being outside and running, and so do most of our friends.

The tables were set simply, with small gold animals for every guest and succulents for decoration. Throughout the summer, a good friend and I collected blue and green glasses from yard sales and thrift stores. Each guest chose one for the night.

After we got engaged, we decided to try to visit everyone on our wedding guest list before the wedding. During every visit, we took photos. We made each wedding guest a card with their photo on it and wrote personal notes inside. Our wedding was small (65 attendees), and we wanted to let everyone know just how special they are to us and how very happy we were that they could spend the day with us. The cards were displayed on twine and guests picked up their cards at the party.

Kate & Ryan’s 3 tips for couples planing their wedding:

Weddings are about love, happiness, and people coming together to have a great time. Don’t lose sight of that while planning.

There is sometimes a lot of pressure from friends and family to do things their way. Remember it’s your day and you can do what you want.

Hire a wedding planner and have fun with the planning process.

Big thanks to Kate and Ryan for allowing us to be a part of their special day and for sharing their story with us. And also thank you to all the talented vendors who helped bring the day together:

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